He Wofest It faces its projections starting this Thursday as a consolidated event and as a benchmark for cinema made by women. Its director, María Luisa Oliveira, grants this interview in which she describes the novelties of the show and the strength of a film series that has already established itself in Huelva.
1) What novelties does this year bring to Wofest?
We always strive to bring to Huelva some of those jewels of cinema made by women
which, until now, had not been seen on the big screen in the province.
This year, all the films that we will screen are absolute premieres in Huelva and we also have a preview (‘dryers‘) and a national premiere (‘Generación Jarcha’). In addition, in this edition we pay special attention to independent production and Indie cinema made by both Spanish and international directors. I cannot fail to emphasize that we will be able to see such award-winning films as ‘Aftersun’, by the British Charlotte Wells, or the winner of the Golden Shell in San Sebastián, ‘Los reyes del mundo’, by the Colombian Laura Mora. And on the national scene, in addition to those I have already mentioned, we will have films as interesting as ‘Ramona’ or the documentary ‘A las mujeres de España. María Lejárraga’, which will be the one that can be seen at the University and in secondary schools in the province.
2) Is it an already consolidated contest?
This is something that, precisely, some of our sponsors highlighted in the presentation
of this year’s programming. After eight editions, in which we are obtaining a
growing support from the public, we believe so, that Wofest is a long-awaited show and
celebrated by the citizens of Huelva and which has been consolidated in the cultural agenda of Huelva. Further
than 20,000 spectators have already enjoyed the event at one time or another and that is quite a
success for us.
2) Is cinema directed by women gaining weight on the national scene?
Well, the figure at the national level is that female directors exceed 21%, which is why there is still
much margin so that it can be said that he is gaining weight. Yes it is true that the movies
directed by women then they are winning quite a few festivals. This year there have been many
nominations for female directors at the Goyas and there is great quality, but the figure is 21%, so
which still remains much to do.
3) How do you see Huelva productions? Is there quality in the shorts that are presented to the
contest?
Yes, the quality is increasing every year. This year there have been seven short films in the competition, all
they already with an important qualitative leap. And we invite everyone to check it out this
Saturday 18 in the session ‘Made in Huelva’, in which we will also find out which is the winning work
of this year.
4) Why have you opted for ‘Secaderos’ for the inaugural session?
We have opted for Rocío Mesa because she is a director from Granada, it is her debut, and she talks about
a very land issue, which I think also has to do with our province. And well,
Rocío won the Dunia Ayaso award in San Sebastián for her debut and is considered one of
the promises of the national cinema. So, it seemed nice to start with a preview at the level
national and also with a director of the land.
5) What response do you expect from the public in this contest?
Well, we hope that they turn to the show for another year and thus help us to promote, disseminate and
Promote the work of women in the cinematographic field. There are many women doing a
fantastic work in the cinema and that must be valued. In previous editions we have had
excellent response from the Huelva public, but we always hope that it will go even better in each
new edition. We do notice that every year we are adding new people to our public and that
many of them already become unconditional.
6) Will there be sessions in the province again to ‘export’ the contest out of the capital?
Yes, of course, for us it is something fundamental. Thanks to the collaboration of the Diputación, this
year we once again have projections in the province, specifically in five educational centers
secondary, one for each region. The documentary ‘To the women of Spain. Maria Lejarraga’,
directed by Laura Hojman, and which has won numerous awards, is being seen these days in
institutes such as the IES Vázquez Díaz de Nerva, the Puerta de Andalucía in Santa Olalla del Cala, the
IES Andévalo in Puebla de Guzmán, IES La Palma in La Palma del Condado and IES Saltés in Punta Umbría. This tape is especially recommended for the promotion of gender equality,
For this reason, we believe that it is very interesting that it be shown in educational centers.
7) Of all the films that have gone through these years in the contest, which one would you recommend to a movie buff?
I would recommend all of them. Any of those screened in the eight editions, since in all of them we have
bet on the quality of the films, so they are all totally recommended.
